


Homework

by kathiann



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Romance, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-30
Updated: 2009-02-09
Packaged: 2017-12-10 01:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathiann/pseuds/kathiann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane is determined to make Lisbon happy, but how?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homework

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so this is my second attempt. Not sure about this one thought. It's a little different. Special thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta, thanks. The words in italics are the thoughts.

She couldn't believe she was doing this. She couldn't believe that she willingly signed up for this class. She knew that she had to do continued learning, but the description of this class is completely different than what they were currently doing in it. The name of the class was Human Relations; it was a business course offered through the local university. It had been on the list of classes that could be taken to fulfill the continued education required by CBI. She thought that it would be a class about how to better relate to people.

What it was turning out to be was a glorified psychology class. They had been spending the entire class doing self reflections and trying to learn about themselves. Apparently knowing where you were and where you were going was supposed to help you be a better manager and be able to deal better with people.

She should have been suspicious the first night of class when the professor said that he was trained as a psychologist, and so the class would be taught that way. She had always thought that psychology was about looking at other people and telling them what was wrong, not looking at yourself and seeing what was wrong.

Here she was sitting at home with her laptop, trying to work up the desire to do the homework. The class was only once a week, on Monday nights, but that didn't mean that she hadn't put off three chapters worth of homework until the night before it was due. She didn't even have a good excuse; they hadn't had a big case or anything during this past week.

Oh well, she had already paid for the course, and she only got the credit if she actually finished and passed. _I can't believe I have to do this_. She pulled the book towards her and read the assignment:

"Visualizing your life can give it a new purpose and meaning. 1. Think about your ideal financial situation. Where do you live, what type of car do you drive, what are your investments like? 2. Visualize the ideal job. What are you doing, what is your compensation? 3. Look at your personal life. ( _MY personal life? Whatever._ ) Who are you with, are you close to your family? Write about each topic, 2-3 pages."

 _How am I supposed to get two to three pages on that? I suppose I could mess with the margins and font size. And there's always double spacing._ She smiled and began to type:

I would live in a modest house with a house keeper so that I never have to wash dishes. I would drive a fast car, never break the speed limit, and never let Jane drive it because it would drive him crazy. ( _Hmm, better not put in that last part, the teacher doesn't need to know that_ ). I would have investments in every snack food company in the world and every fast food restaurant as well. ( _No need to tell him that there is no way they would ever fail the way Rigsby eats._ ) In addition to this I would own hotels in all of the little hell hole towns from here to Nebraska so that we always have a half way decent place to stay when we are on a case. ( _Maybe I'll just say that I would invest in real estate, might not seem so odd._ )

I want to be the first female president, if I can ever make it through the day with out being disobeyed by a bunch of men acting like pre-adolescent boys ( _Maybe that's a bit harsh, I'll delete that and start over._ ) I would like to be the head agent in the field. I'm senior agent already, but head agent would be as high as I could move and still be out in the field. No way would I ever take a desk job—way too boring and way too much stress. I don't care how much money they pay me. I would never sit behind a desk all day. Well, they could give me other compensation: I work with this really hot guy, curly blond hair, blue eyes, killer smile…( _Ok, defiantly way too much information, and where the hell did that come from? I need to pay more attention to what I'm writing, too much free association going on. I'll have to delete that last part._ )

I would like to be able to take more time off to visit my nieces and nephews, or maybe have them come to visit me when they get older. ( _I wonder if the teacher will notice that I didn't mention visiting my brother_ ) _._ I'm sure they would love to see the capital of the great state of California. ( _I'm sure they would probably leave the second they realized that the nearest beach is in San Francisco and that Sacramento is in the Valley, which means no spectacular mountains a stones throw away._ ) I think that I might want to be married, if the right man ever just opened his eyes and looked at me! ( _Umm, I mean…_ ) if the right man ever came along. I would love children if it didn't feel like I was always around them ( _I think I might have already said that, better change it_.) I would love children, just one or two, of course it will never happen if it doesn't happen soon. ( _As I'm sure the teacher really needs to know._ _Let's try again._ )I would love to have children, just one or two, but if it never happens that's ok to. That's why I love being an aunt. If the kids start to get on my nerves, I can give them back ( _What? It's the truth...ok, I'll take the last part off._ )

She looked at the paper that had just printed off, trying to look objectively at the finished product. The margins were just 1 and ½ inches, and the font was 14 point, but in Times New Roman, so it was not to big of a font to begin with. She had been able to just get over a page and a half. She was so glad that she was only doing this for the continuing education requirement. She only had to get a "C" or better to get the credit for it and it was one less seminar or class she would have to take later this year.

Maybe next time she would just stick to weekend seminars and one week power courses for her continuing education. This class was providing way too many opportunities for reflection and looking at her life, and she was sometimes surprised at what she found. It made her blush, and she hated that, even when she was by herself and no one could see. It didn't matter, she still hated it.

Oh well, the class only has three and a half months to go. She would survive somehow.


	2. Intensive Therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta, and to all of the people who reviewed the first time around. Don't for get to let me know what you think :)

He snuck into her office. He knew that she would be at lunch for at least another 20 minutes and he knew exactly what he was looking for. She had been taking a continuing education course at the local college for the past few weeks, and some of the assignments she had to do annoyed her. He had noticed today when she came in that she looked particularly annoyed and had guessed that it was because of the homework assignment that she had probably completed the night before. He wanted to read it and see what had her so irritated.

He knew that she kept all of her school work in a folder in the drawer of her desk. He pulled it out to look at it. After glancing at the assignment, he quickly read through the paper she had written. He noticed her creative use of margins and font, but decided that trying to make a paper longer than it really was should not have her this irritated.

As he read, he realized what was bothering her. She hated to look at her life and see what was lacking—this assignment made her do just that. He wondered how long it had taken her to write this paper, which could barley be called two pages. He also wondered what she had not written, what she had typed and then deleted.

He knew he didn't have much time, but he wanted to get a copy of this so he could look at it more closely. He quickly went out to the copy machine and made a copy, careful to replace the paper when he was done in the same spot in the folder, and the folder in the same spot in the desk. He did not want her to know that he had been into it, not yet anyway.

He sat on his sofa with the paper and a few others to disguise what he was looking at. He didn't want anyone to get suspicious. _How would they know he wasn't really working, he hardly did any work anyway._ He read it through slowly. He mulled over every sentence, just getting to the end as she came back in the door from lunch.

"Did you have a nice lunch, Lisbon?" he asked without looking up.

"Fine, thanks. Did you go out for lunch today?" she asked him to be polite.

"No, I stayed in." He still had not looked up from the papers in his hand to look at her. "I know you really just want to go into your office, so go ahead. I won't be offended if you don't stay to talk."

She looked at him and shook her head as she walked away. He glanced up just as she entered her office and smiled; sometimes it was just too easy. He looked down at the paper and read the last few lines " _I think that I might want to be married, if he right man ever came along. I would love children, just one or two; of course it will never happen if it doesn't happen soon._ "

He had never taken Lisbon for the marriage and babies' route. She always seemed so content with the job. Maybe this is what had her so wound up today. Having to look at your life and realize that something was missing. Still, the way she wrote it, it was as if she already had someone in mind, but couldn't say anything to him. Maybe it was someone they worked with.

He started to look around, looking to see if there was anyone that he thought Lisbon would be attracted to. No, not really. They were either too short or too stupid. There was obviously no rule saying you had to have a high IQ to work at the CBI, which was too bad. The amount of time that she spent here, this was probably the only place she met men. There had to be someone. Maybe he should try to figure out which one it was and see if he could help her win him over—not that it would take much; anyone would be lucky to have Lisbon.

He looked up and decided that he needed to talk to her. He should be able to figure out who it was that she liked around here with a few simple questions. She was generally easy to read. He wanted her to be happy; after all, when she was in a good mood it made his life easier. He walked to her office and knocked on the door.

She sat at her desk. She knew it was him knocking. She didn't even have to look up; he had a bad habit of coming to see her when she just wanted him to leave her alone. She sighed. She knew that she had been in bad mood today—it was that class she was taking. She hated having to look at her life and see what she could be doing. Well, he wasn't likely to go away so she called out to him to come in.

He came in and shut the door behind him. _He doesn't normally do that, I wonder what he did now._ She thought as he sat down in the chair across from him.

"Before you ask," he said with a smile, "I didn't do anything that you need to be worried about."

_How does he always know what I'm thinking? I can't stand it. There are some things I would rather he not know._

"I don't always know what you're thinking, you know." He smirked; he knew he was driving her crazy, he could see it in her eyes.

"What do you want Jane, I have work to do." She said impatiently. She didn't really, but he couldn't know that.

"No you don't. We haven't had a case in a week, all you have to do is paper work, and even that can wait."

 _How did he do that?_ "That still doesn't answer the question."

"Now don't be mad," he started and she groaned, "But I snuck into your office while you were out at lunch and got a copy of the paper you wrote for your class tonight."

She stared at him like he was crazy "You did _what_!?" she yelled at him. In her head she was thinking: _Oh great, I wonder what he's going to read into that...Is he going to be able to figure out that I like him? Oh, I hope not._

"I told you not to get mad. I read it and I think I can help."

"Help with what?" _Maybe he already knows. I'm never going to live this down! Why is he acting so nonchalant about this? Why can't he ever just come out and say it!_

"I can help you get what you want, well some of it any way."

"Are you going to buy me a house?" she smirked. She knew that's not what he meant.

"No, I figured you could do that on your own. I'm going to help you get married."

"YOU WHAT!?" She yelled at him again. _I can't believe this. This is so humiliating; maybe he gets some sort of pleasure out of embarrassing me._

"Yes, well, I noticed that you seem to get uncomfortable in personal or intimate situations, like this one right now. By the way, you're blushing."

She wanted to bury her head in her hands and tell him to just go away, but it was impossible. Even though she knew it was going to end badly, she couldn't help but stare at him and wait for him to continue.

"To be fair, I can't guarantee to get you a husband, but I can help you get the guy you like to ask you out and make sure the first few dates go all right. After that, it's up to you."

"How do you know I like anyone?"

"It was all over your paper. A woman who didn't have a man in mind for marriage would have fantasized a little bit more about what he would look like or what kind of job he should have or any number of other things."

_He's right. I didn't do any of those things. That would have been a way to make the paper longer; I'll have to remember that for next time._

"And who do you think it is that I like?" It was her turn to smile now. _I don't think he knows. I can't believe it—maybe he's not as good at reading people as I thought or maybe I'm just really good at hiding it._

"Well," he paused, "That's the thing. I can't figure it out. I know that it's not Rigsby or Cho. Neither of them strike me as your type. They're not intelligent enough. Not that they're not smart, but you would need a guy with at least the same IQ as you."

"I'll make sure not to tell them that you think I'm smarter than they are." She was really amused now. He had no idea and she wasn't about to tell him.

"It would be easier if you would just tell me who it was, you know."

"How about I just let you guess?"

"It's not Johnson from narcotics, is it? He's kind of creepy."

"What makes you think it's someone that works here?"

"Well, you spend most of your time at work and you never mention going out with any one. You often decline the offer when any of the women here ask, so I figure this is the only place you would meet anyone."

She was a little hurt by this. From the way he described it, it sounded like she had no social life. The fact that it was true didn't make a difference. She decided to string him on a little bit and see what his offer would involve.

"I can't really say who it is." She said after a minute.

"Why not, is he married?"

"Not anymore, but he's still deeply attached to his…"she paused, not sure how to phrase it.

"His wife." Jane finished for her.

"Yes, and it would seem insensitive for me to tell you. How do I know that you wouldn't just go spreading office gossip?" She looked him in the face and tried to look sincere. _I wonder if he keeps up on office gossip. I know of at least four guys who are recently divorced who would fit the bill, and at least two of them have to have the same IQ as me._

"OK, I can accept that, but that doesn't mean I'm still not going to try to figure it out."

"I should tell you though, I already know your advice to Rigsby of "love and affection," so if that's all you are going to tell me, I can save you the trouble."

"No, I wouldn't just tell you that and turn you loose. I think you need more…" he was looking for the right word, "intensive therapy." He flashed her one of his killer smiles and she wanted to melt, instead she decided to play like she was mad, she did it all of the time, and he seemed to fall for it.

"I do not need "intensive therapy." I have dated before, quite successfully in fact."

"That may be, but not recently. Since I've been here I have only seen you go on two dates and heard about you going on three more. All first dates too—that's not a good thing Lisbon."

"I still don't need "intensive therapy."" She glared at him for a minute, her arms across her chest. She could tell by the look on his face that he knew she was going to give in. He was always able to sucker her into things and it drove her crazy. "Ok, fine. What do you want to do?"

His face lit up like the Fourth of July. _He's like a little kid at Christmas. I love that look when I give into him._

"Not today. I'll tell you tomorrow. Finish your work, go to your class, and I'll see you here bright and early tomorrow morning." He smiled, stood up and walked to the door. "It will be worth it, Lisbon, you'll see." He said just as he closed the door.

 _I'll bet it will be,_ she thought, gazing through her window as she watched him walk away.


	3. The Assingment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this part is pretty short. I do have another one to post, I just have to do my home work first. Thanks as always to Ebony10 for being my beta.

She had gone to her class the night before, barely able to keep herself from screaming at the top of her lungs that the teacher was boring. It seemed at times that he was just talking to talk. There was only one person in the class who seemed to even be paying attention, and most of the time she looked half asleep.

But that was yesterday. Now it was Tuesday and Jane was supposed to help her "get married." Not sure what it entailed, she was slightly nervous. You never knew when it came to him. "Intensive therapy," he had called it. Maybe he had just been joking with her; it wouldn't be the first time.

She was sitting behind her desk, working on more paperwork. Waiting for a case to come up, hoping a case would come up so that she wouldn't have to do this thing with Jane. Not that she would mind spending the time with him. _I just with he wasn't spending time with me to "train" me on how to catch a man._ He hadn't come in yet, but it was still early. As she was trying to return her focus to the work in front of her, she heard a knock at her door. _It's him,_ she thought and felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach that the thought of him always gave her. Trying to squelch the feelings lest he was able to tell, she called out "Come in."

The door opened slowly, but instead of the familiar blond head she was expecting, she saw was bouquet of wild flowers.

"Jane?" she asked, a note of curiosity in her voice. _What the heck was he thinking?_ "The woman doesn't usually by the man flowers, so I'm not sure…"

"Simple really," he said as he set the vase down on her desk, "I also want to show you what you should expect from the man in a relationship. I don't want you to have to settle." He smiled at her now, not his most dazzling smile that she was used to—this one was different and she couldn't quite tell what was wrong. "Do you like them?" He gestured to the flowers on the desk.

"I love them. How did you know that I would like these?"

"Well, you're not the roses type and when I saw these at the shop this morning, I was inspired." Now he grinned like she was expecting—the "I figured something out" grin.

"Ok, so should I expect to get flowers before or after the first date?"

"Whoa, slow down. Fist you have to let him know that you're interested. I'm pretty sure that your flirting skills are severely lacking, so why don't we work on them first."

"What, now?" she was shocked. _I do have to work for a living. I can't spend all day flirting with people._

"No, not now silly." He looked like an adult gently teasing a small child who had asked a ridiculous question. "We'll start after work tonight. We'll go out to a bar that I know, pretty close to your place, so you shouldn't have to worry about driving. Plus that should give you enough time to go home and change."

"Why would I have to change?" She was getting annoyed with him again. _I don't really have anything to change into; most of my clothes are work clothes_.

"So you don't look like you just got off work. Try to, I don't know, sexy up a little bit." He got up to leave and looked back at her, "Close your mouth Lisbon. I'm sure you can do it."

She sat there staring at the door after he left. _I can't believe he wants me to "sexy up." I'm not even sure I know what that means; I don't even think I own anything that could be considered sexy. He can be such a jerk. Man, is he hot. STOP it. You do not need to be thinking about him like that. It will only make things worse._ She sighed and tried to get back to doing her work. She looked over at the vase of flowers on her desk. _It's going to be a long day._


	4. Flirting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to Ebony10 for being my beta, please don't forget to review.

She was rushing around her apartment trying to get ready. He would be here any minute and she was still not sure if what she was wearing would pass as sexy in his book _I can't believe I'm doing this. Why am I doing this? Oh right, because he is so hot, and I really like him. It's not fair, why couldn't I be as forward as he is and just tell him. I am such a chicken._

She was still mentally berating herself when there was a knock at the door. Jane was here (on time for once). She walked over to the door and opened it. "Would you like to come in?" she asked.

He just stood there for a minute staring at her. At last it seemed like he had heard her and said "Uhh, sure." He followed her into the apartment.

"I'm almost ready. I just need to grab my shoes." He still seemed a little dazed—maybe that meant that her outfit was alright for the outing they were going to be going on. It was not something she would normally wear. She had on a pair of black jeans that hugged her hips and thighs and flared out at the knee, which was not totally unusual for her. Maybe a little bit tighter or flared than normal, but that was all. The shirt, on the other hand, was a different matter.

She had bought it on a whim one day while shopping. The fact that she didn't go shopping often was to be noted. She had been particularly bored that day, and the desire to shop had been overwhelming. It was a dark green silk spaghetti strap tank top. It was clingy, but not too much, and was just low cut enough for her to not be uncomfortable. She had to wear her only strapless bra with it, but that hadn't been a problem.

She stood looking in the mirror in her bedroom at her top. _I wonder if he's a boob man. I hope not, I would be in some serious trouble. I wonder if his wife was well endowed. Crap, what type of question is that? I can't believe I'm thinking about that. He doesn't even know I like him, and here I am comparing myself to his_ dead _wife. How insensitive am I?_

Realizing that she had been in here way too long, she took one more look at her makeup and hair, and grabbed her shoes. Another find on the same shopping trip that had produced the top, they were a pair of strappy pewter colored sandals. The heel on them could almost be called stiletto in style, but she didn't think about that, just the fact that her feet would probably be killing her by the end of the night.

She walked back into the living room and saw him looking at the pictures on her wall. She stood watching him for a minute, waiting for him to notice her. After a minute he said "Is this your family?" He gestured to one of the pictures on the wall.

"Yes, who else would they be?"

"They look like you." He turned and was looking at her now. She was starting to get self-conscious.

"Not much I can do about them looking like me, is there? We were all born that way."

"I'm glad you didn't straighten your hair today. It makes your face look too long when it's straight."

 _Ok, that was out of left field, he could have told me that before._ "Thanks, I think. I was just lazy this morning. I'm glad you like it."

"Those are some heels you're wearing; they make you taller, but not too tall. Most men will still be taller than you. That's important because men like to feel like, well, a man. They like to be taller than the woman they date."

She looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out where he was coming from. Was his advice coming from just being her "teacher," or was there something else to it? As she looked at him she thought, _Man is he hot. He's always hot. I've never met a man who can look both dressed up and casual at the same time. How does he do it?_

Out loud she said "You didn't change, you're still wearing the same clothes you were wearing earlier today. Why did I need to change?"

"My dear agent Lisbon," he said with a smile. "We are not going out tonight for my benefit. We are going out for yours. I merely suggested that you change into something that more men would find sexually appealing. I personally see nothing wrong with what you wear on a daily basis if all you want to do is be at work. However, when going out, you should try to live a little. Make it seem like you're enjoying yourself and not just there to get drunk after a long day at the office."

As was common after Jane gave one of his little speeches, she was stunned momentarily into silence. _What am I supposed to say to that? Maybe I do just want to get drunk. It would take my mind off this ridiculous school girl crush I have for my consultant._ She wanted to scream, but settled for glaring at him instead.

He gave a little half smile, half smirk at her expression. "Should we go now? We probably don't want to be out all night; we do have to work in the morning."

"Alright, let's go. Who's driving, you or me?"

"I'll drive of course, if things go well, men should be buying you drinks left and right, we wouldn't want you to drive after that."

"What, you don't plan to drink?"

"Not tonight. Tonight, I'm just going to observe and see how you do so I can give you some pointers." There was that smile again. He was really going to have to stop it if she was going to be able to flirt with anyone tonight.

When they arrived at the bar Lisbon realized that she had been here before, right at she had moved to her apartment. As far as bars go, it was one of the nicer ones. Mostly professionals out for a drink after a long day at work. Not too many really young people and not a lot of "grungy" looking people either.

"So here's the plan," Jane started right away, "Go over to the bar, and sit next to any of the men there. Start talking to him. I'll watch to see how you do with flirting. I'll give you an hour, and then we can regroup and see how you've done. OK?"

"Sure, why not?" Lisbon looked at him like he was crazy, but there was that smile again, and she walked over to the bar. _Ok, who do I chose? Mr. Fat and Balding? No, that wouldn't be fair to get his hopes up if I do a good job at this little exercise. How about Mr. I'm too good for you? Nah, no reason to get my hopes up. Too old, too young, too…nope he's perfect. Just the man Jane would expect me to choose. Not too old, not too young. Average height and build. Nice hair, light brown in color, nice eyes: yup he'll do. No use putting it off. Now let's go for it._

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jane heading for a table in a corner near the man she had chosen. She was right then, in thinking that he would expect her to choose him. _Maybe I should go with Mr. Fat and Balding, keep Jane on his toes_. No, that wouldn't be fair to Jane. He had guessed right and she might as well just go along with it.

She sat down at the bar with her back to Jane. The bartender walked up to her and distractedly asked "What will you have?"

"Beer, please, whatever you have in a bottle."

"Coming right up," was his reply before he walked away.

He brought her back a bottle a few minutes later and Lisbon took a long drink. She could feel Jane's eyes on the back of her neck and she knew she had better start doing something. Before she got a chance to say anything however the man sitting next to her turned and said "Hi, my names Paul. I don't think I've seen you in here before. Are you new to the neighborhood?"

Lisbon smiled. Maybe this was going to be easier than she thought. "No, I just don't get the chance to go out much. My name's Teresa by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

They sat in silence for a while. Lisbon could still feel Jane staring at her and resisted the urge to look over her shoulder and glare at him. "So, what kind of work do you do that makes you want to come in here and drown your day in whisky?" she asked, noticing the drink in front of him.

"I'm a highly paid accountant. I work at a very respected firm, make a lot of money, and hate my job." Paul looked at her and smiled. "What is it that's causing you to drown your troubles tonight?"

"I work in law enforcement. It's been pretty slow lately and I got bored."

"I suppose slow is good."

"Yeah, it gives me a chance to catch up on paperwork, but it gives me too much time to think."

"I know how that is."

They smiled at each other and just started talking.

Jane sat at his table watching. He was drinking plain club soda as he had promised Lisbon. However the longer he watched, the more he wished he hadn't been the one to drive. She was doing remarkably well, much better than he had expected. They were talking and there it was! He was making her laugh. Jane noticed that Lisbon kept playing with her hair—an unconscious flirting technique. A woman playing with her hair indicated interest in a man. And there! She touched him on the arm.

 _Why am I acting like I'm jealous? It's Lisbon for goodness sake. She's my boss. She's Lisbon. She likes somebody at work and it's definately not me. Look at the guy she chose. He's a perfect match or her. She couldn't have done better if I had picked him out for her._ He sighed and signaled to the waiter for another club soda.

He noticed that Lisbon was on her second beer and the guy was on his second drink. What was it? He looked closely and decided it was probably a whiskey and water. Jane smirked. _Can't even drink straight hard liquor. What type of a man is that? I have got to stop this,_ he mentally chastised himself. _I'm here to help Lisbon, not to hinder her attempts at happiness._ He went back to simply staring at them so that he could rate Lisbon's "performance" and give her pointers.

Lisbon was surprised. She was having a really good time and it wasn't nearly as awkward as she thought it was going to be. She smiled at Paul.

"Don't look now," said Paul with a note of amusement in his voice, "but the blond man in the corner has been staring at you since you sat down here."

Lisbon shot a quick glance over her shoulder and saw Jane quickly turn his head, as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "Jane," she cursed under her breath.

"What was that?" Paul asked.

"Nothing, that's just a co-worker of mine, he agreed to come with me tonight and be the designated driver. He doesn't play well with others."

Paul laughed at this and said "I know what you mean; I have a few co-workers like that."

Lisbon glanced down at her watch, and noticed that the hour was almost up. "Speaking of annoying co-workers, I promised him I'd only be here an hour,"

"That's too bad. Will you be coming back here again?"

"If you'll be here, definitely." Lisbon touched him one more time on the arm, threw a few bills on the bar to pay for her drinks, and walked towards Jane.

"Ok, let's go, so you can give me some pointers." To Lisbon, it seemed as if it took Jane a few minutes to realize she was talking to him. "Earth to Jane, are you there? You haven't been drinking, have you?"

"No, just club soda, like I promised." He smiled, but it didn't seem to completely reach his eyes.

 _I wonder what's gotten in to him._ Lisbon wondered. They both walked out of the bar and to his car. Not wanting to call him on it, Lisbon decided to just wait until they got back to her apartment to talk about it.


	5. Assingment 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta. There's probably only going to be one more part after this, I have it planed out, i just need to write it. As always reviews are appreciated, good or bad.

The ride back to her apartment was silent. She kept looking over at him, but his eyes were glued to the road. _I wonder what he's thinking. I don't think I did that bad. I actually had fun, which I didn't think I was going to._

They still hadn't said anything when they pulled up to her apartment and parked. "Are you going to come up?" Lisbon asked him.

He just looked at her and nodded. _Ok, now he's freaking me out. What the hell is wrong with him? Why the silent treatment?_ She unlocked the door and they both walked in. "Do you want something to drink?"

Jane shook his head and just smiled at her.

"OK, well, I'm going to go get out of these clothes." She turned around and almost stopped when she thought about what she had said. _I hope that didn't come out like I think it did._

"Don't worry, Lisbon, I know what you meant." It was the first thing he had said and she could hear the laughter in his voice. She just shook her head and kept walking.

She walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed. How did she always manage to put her foot in her mouth when she was with him? _I can't believe I said that. I feel so stupid_. She sat there for a few more minutes, before realizing that he would expect her to come out of the bedroom eventually. She sighed and got up, quickly shedding her "sexy" clothes and putting on a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She didn't want him to keep looking at her the way that he had been earlier that night—it unnerved her. _It was like he'd never seen me before or something. What's gotten into him?_

She walked out of the bedroom and saw him sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed. She knew better than to think that he was asleep. She sat in the chair across from the sofa. She knew he would say something when he was good and ready, so she just sat there. A few minutes later Jane opened his eyes and looked at her quizzically.

"Were you just going to sit there all night?"

"I knew that you knew I was here, and that you'd say something when you were ready. I was just enjoying the silence." She smiled at him. She liked being able to throw him off, even though she realized that he probably knew what she was doing already.

"Oh," was his only reply as he closed his eyes again and leaned his head back on the sofa.

After a few minutes, she started to feel a little sleepy and she made herself more comfortable in the chair, grabbing the blanket that had been thrown over the arm. She snuggled down into it. _If he wants to talk, he can just wake me up. I have to work in the morning,_ were her only thoughts as her eyes drifted shut and she fell asleep.

It took a few minutes for him to realize that her breathing had slowed and she wasn't moving around restlessly any more. He slowly opened one eye and noticed that she had indeed fallen asleep. She had pulled her legs up underneath her and was wrapped up in what looked like a very warm blanket.

 _She looks like an angel when she sleeps; it's a good look for her, so peaceful and beautiful._ He paused and looked at her again. _I should wake her up to let her know I'm going to leave, but she'll just want to know how I think she did tonight and I just don't want to tell her. She did fabulous. I can't figure out why she is always so nervous when we discuss personal things or are in intimate situations. It's almost like she doesn't know how to handle herself around me. It's so odd._

He sat there looking at her for a few more minutes. He was half tempted to just stay there tonight. She obviously felt comfortable with him in her house or she never would have fallen sleep, but he didn't think it would be appropriate; she was his boss after all. At last he got up and, before slipping quietly out the door, leaned over her sleeping form and kissed her tenderly on the check, whispering "Good night Teresa" in her ear.

As he walked to his car he thought about what he had just done. He had no idea why he had kissed her—if you could even call it a kiss. _It was more like a peck. That's right, just a peck on the cheek. And besides she was sleeping, so it's not like it counts._

Jane was holding her in his arms. He was strong and warm, very warm. He was whispering in her ear that he loved her and was kissing her neck and face. She was so happy and content. She was enjoying his attention when a faint beeping noise started. She couldn't figure out what it was, but it wouldn't stop. She started to look around for what the sound was, when she realized that she was dreaming, and that the noise was her alarm.

 _Why is it so quiet?_ She wondered without opening her eyes. She reached an arm out to silence the alarm and go back to dreaming, when she realized that she was not in the bed. She was in the chair in the living room where she had fallen asleep last night waiting for Jane to tell her about his observations. She opened her eyes and went to stretch. She had a crick in her neck that was unbearable. _I guess that's what happens when you sleep sitting up all night._

She took her time getting ready that morning; she had had a good dream and wanted the good feeling to last as long as possible. Unfortunately the feeling was already gone by the time she left her apartment. The pain in her neck had gotten worse, and now radiated through her shoulders and down her back.

By the time she got to work, she was really in a bad mood. She was mad at Jane for not saying anything last night and for just leaving her sleeping. _Why hadn't he said anything? Either I did really well and he can't believe it or I did really badly and he's trying to think of some way to let me down easy._

She had practically ignored Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt when she had come in. She had gone straight to her office and had started to work on paper work. It was an hour after she had got there and Jane had still not shown up. She was starting to get mad. _Can't even make it into work on time. He's always goofing off, acting up. I bet he does it for all of the attention, and we just cater to his unquenchable appetite for it. I can't stand-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door to her office. "What?" was her curt reply.

The door opened slightly and Van Pelt poked her head in "Hey, something was delivered for you."

"What?" she was not in the mood for guessing games.

"You got flowers," she opened the door wider, and produced a large bouquet of roses.

"Who sent them?"She asked as she got up from her desk to get them.

"I don't know. The delivery guy didn't say, but I think there's a card."

She could feel her mood lightening already. "Thanks Van Pelt." She said as a way of dismissing her. She sat the flowers down on her desk and looked at them. She knew they weren't from Jane (he knew that roses weren't her favorite), but it was still nice to have flowers delivered. She reached into the bouquet and pulled out the card. Reading it, she smiled. The day was getting better.

Jane walked into the office. He was late. He hadn't slept much last night. This was not unusual. However, what was unusual was why he couldn't sleep. He'd been up all night thinking about Lisbon. It was as if he couldn't stop himself and, while it was a welcome break from what he usually couldn't take his mind off, he was still disturbed by it.

The first thing he noticed when he got into the office was that Lisbon was not in the main room, and that her office door was closed. He called good morning to the team and went over to his sofa to sit down.

"Where is our fearless leader this morning?" He asked jokingly.

"She's in her office, but I wouldn't bother her. She's in a mood today," said Cho.

"I don't know. She seemed to have improved a little when I brought her the flowers that were delivered." Van Pelt added.

"What did you do this time Jane?" asked Rigsby.

"What makes you think I did anything?" Jane asked with a hint of a smile. He was confused, but they didn't need to know that.

"Well, you brought her flowers yesterday, and today you had them delivered, so you must have done something. Besides, the boss is usually only in a mood like this when you've done something." Was Rigsby's response.

"The flowers today aren't from me." Jane smiled at them and got back up off the sofa. He was going to go see Lisbon.

"Don't say we didn't warn you!" Cho called after him.

Jane just smiled. _I wonder who would have sent her flowers. Maybe it's the guy here she likes? Wait, it's not the guy from last night, was it? No, he wouldn't know where to send them, would he? Maybe that's why she's in a bad mood. Or it could be because she fell asleep with me watching her last night or the fact that I left without saying anything to her. Man, I think I screwed up._

He knocked on her office door and went in before she could say anything. He quickly shut the door so that if she decided to yell at him, they had some privacy. The first thing he noticed was the large vase of roses on Lisbon's desk. They were very impressive and had obviously cost a lot of money. _I bet it is that guy from last night—very presumptuous of him to send her flowers; they didn't even go out on a date. I think I might be jealous, but why would I be jealous? Wasn't that the whole point of making her go out last night—getting her to be more comfortable, to find love?_

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Lisbon had stopped working and was now glaring at him. "What do you want, Jane?"

"Who sent you the flowers?" he asked without missing a beat. No need for her to know what he was thinking.

"Paul," was all she said, as if he should know who that was.

"Who's Paul?" was his question. He was pretty sure it was the guy from last night, but he wasn't positive.

"He's the guy I met last night; you would know that if you had bothered to say more than a few words to me the entire night. You left me sleeping in a chair in my living room for crying out loud. What was your problem? It was your stupid idea to go out anyway—you thought that I needed help with my love life." He was surprised; he was not expecting her to be this mad.

He looked at her, studying her face. She was clearly fuming and, it would seem, in a lot of pain. "Are feeling alright?" he asked with a note of concern in his voice, even though he already knew the answer.

"No, I am not feeling alright. I slept in a chair all night. My back and neck are killing me and I have a headache." She had gone back to attempting to do paperwork. _I shouldn't be taking my pain and misery out on him,_ she thought. _He's just such an easy target. He just stands there and he did just leave me there last night. He didn't even say anything._

"I think I can help with that." He said as he walked around the side of her desk.

"What are you doing?" Lisbon asked defensively.

"Relax, I'm just going to massage your shoulders. I am quite good at it you know." He smiled at her. She still wasn't sure, but didn't protest.

He gently moved her hair over one of her shoulders and started to rub her neck and shoulders. _Ohh this feels sooo good_ was her thought almost as soon as he had started. _This is why I like him, no doubt about it. For all the annoying mind reading tricks that he does, sometimes it's nice to know that he can tell exactly what I need._

She was lost in thought when he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You wore your hair curled again today. I like it."

She tensed up and moved away from his magic fingers, remembering why she was in pain in the first place and vowing to ignore it, so she could just talk to him. "Thanks, I think I'm okay now." She lied.

He stopped his massaging and turned her chair so that she was looking at him. "No, you're not."

She couldn't stand being so close to him. She stood up to get something out of the file cabinet. "I will be fine. Why don't we finish the conversation that we never had last night? How do you think I did?"

Jane was a little taken back by the sudden change in topic, but decided to just go with it. "You did remarkably well. Better than I expected, really." He moved to sit down in the chair in front of her desk again. "Clearly, you made an impression on Paul; he sent you some obviously expensive flowers."

Lisbon couldn't help but smile. _I think he's jealous. I can't believe it. I wonder if he knows that he's putting off that vibe. Better not let him know I know. He'd probably go running; he's so not ready for a relationship right now._

"What about the guy here that you like. Are you going to give up on him?" Jane asked when Lisbon didn't respond.

"He's not ready for a relationship right now. I don't want to wait forever. I used to think I was going to, but now, maybe not." She was sitting there looking at him, trying to read him like he read her. It wasn't working. Nothing that wasn't always on his face was coming through, just the normal smug arrogance with a charming smile.

"Are you ready to go at it alone? You still seem a little nervous about personal situations? You blush every time you look at the flowers." She was taken back; she hadn't realized that he would notice that.

"Maybe." _Any reason to spend more time with you away from work._

"How about we do dinner tonight? I assume that Paul has asked you out to dinner or at least intends to."

"Yes, that's right." She smiled as she remembered the note. She was still a little surprised at having received the flowers and was enjoying the way it had seemed to affect Jane. Suddenly she thought of something, "I thought you said it was sophomoric to try to seduce someone over a meal?"

He smiled, pleased that she had remembered, although not sure why that pleased him. "I said it would be sophomoric for me to seduce you over a meal. For most men that is as good as it gets."

"Well, then why not show me what the right way to do it is, so I can teach who ever I may end up with?" _I would love to see how he would go about seducing me. I know I shouldn't be encouraging this fantasy I have, but he is just so gorgeous and I really like him. And even though he can make me so mad, usually he makes me laugh—and he's really good at his job._

He looked at her for a few minutes. "Okay, if that's the way you want to do it. I suppose I did bring you the flowers to show you what you should expect from a man. I can take you on the ideal seduction date." He gave her one of his killer smiles, laced with a little uncertainty. "Let's plan for it on Saturday, if Paul can wait that long."

"Oh, I'm sure he can wait for a date until then" she said with a smile.

Jane looked like he was about to say something when a knock sounded at the door and Cho poked his head in. "We've got a case boss."

That was all he said, but it was sufficient to end the conversation between Lisbon and Jane. It was going to have to wait till Saturday.


	6. Final Grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part. Thank you to every one who read and reviewed. And a huge thanks to Ebony10 who betaed for me. I hope you all enjoy.

The case they were working on took them to a small town in the mountains. They were called in because the body was found in the nearby state park. It was a young man who, it turned out, was killed by his girlfriend's mother. Apparently she had wanted to protect her daughter from him—she thought he was a bad influence. The mother confessed easily. Jane hadn't even needed to do any of his customary tricks. It had taken them a few days to finish the case and by the time they had wrapped up, it was Friday.

They were getting ready to leave when Lisbon noticed a sign for a local antique fair that started on Saturday, tomorrow. She enjoyed looking at antique fairs and, although she rarely bought anything, it was always interesting to see what people thought was valuable and how much they were asking for it.

She checked at the hotel they had been staying at and found that although Monday was a holiday and the antique fair was a big deal for the small town, the room she was in was available for the weekend.

The next thing Lisbon did was let Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt know that she was going to be staying. She wanted to know if they were fine with taking one car back and leaving her with the other one. The only person she didn't tell was Jane.

_No reason to tell him. He'll figure it out on his own. Maybe he'll decide to stay or maybe he'll leave. I'll let him decide what to do. I really wish he would stay; spending time with him away from work always makes me happy. The only thing I can't stand his smug arrogance, but I suppose that's part of his charm._

Lisbon decided to go for a short walk around the town before heading back to her hotel room. They were never able to really explore these towns during cases. They always stuck to the same process: focus on going in, solving the case, and getting back home. They never stopped to just relax. Of course most of the towns were the same, but still, sometimes it would be nice to just relax and take in the scenery.

In her tour of the town she noticed a small diner that looked like just the place for dinner. She planned on returning there in a few hours to eat. First, though, she was going to go back to her room and get some rest. There was some sort of local band concert tonight to kick off the antique fair and she wanted to go.

_I'm not sure what type of band would be playing at the opening of an antique fair, but it should be interesting. I might as well go the whole nine yards now that I'm staying; enjoy the whole experience._

When she got back to her hotel room, she opened the door and took off her jacket, throwing it on the bed. She walked a little further into the room, deciding to take a shower instead of a nap, and started to take off her shirt as she headed to the bathroom.

"You should really be more observant of your surroundings, Lisbon," said a familiar voice from the sofa.

Lisbon screamed and spun around quickly. "JANE! What the hell do you think you're doing in my room? Why didn't you leave when the others did?"

"You act mad, but you're really glad that I'm here." He was ignoring her question, but he didn't care. He just looked at her and smiled.

"That is beyond the point. What did you do, pick the lock?" She was trying to look mad, but he just kept smiling at her and she was losing the battle.

"Come on, you're not really mad. Besides, we had a date scheduled."

"It's not a date" she denied. She could feel her cheeks starting to get hot. _How is he always able to do that? It's not fair. I'm always caught off guard and he's always two steps ahead of me, making me feel like I'm incompetent or something._ "Why are you in my room? Why aren't you in your room?"

"You didn't tell me you were staying. I had to find out from Cho _after_ we had already checked out. There weren't any more rooms left when I came back. It looks like you got the last room in town." He smiled slightly at her, as if he hadn't really planned to have her walk in to the room and start undressing in front of him.

"Well you can't stay here-"

"Why not?" He cut her off, standing up. "You have a sofa. I spend most of my time at work sleeping on a sofa anyway, so I'm used to it." He moved closer. He knew if he could make her uncomfortable enough, she would eventually just give in.

She glared at him. _Why can't I ever say no to him? This is really getting to be too much._ "I suppose you could sleep on the sofa, but none of your mind games. I'm here to try to relax."

He moved a few steps closer, into her personal space. "Oh, of course not. I wouldn't dream of interrupting your personal time." He gave her that smile, not the 100 watt one, but the one he gives to women when he is trying to get them to spill information. "Now don't mind me, just pretend I'm not here. Go ahead—I believe you were in the process of changing?"

 _I can't believe him._ "Um, I think I'll just do that in the bathroom thanks." She stated, picking up her change of clothes.

He lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes. "Whatever you want," he said with a smirk. She glared at him one more time and then, on impulse, grabbed her jacket off the bed and threw it at him, smirking as he floundered around. She walked into the bathroom, intending to ignore Jane and relax.

Jane lay on the sofa thinking. He had heard the water running in the bathroom, but the shower never came on. _She must have decided to take a bath instead_ , he thought. It had been about 10 minutes and he figured that she was probably going to be in the bathroom for a while. She really didn't get the chance to relax very often. He almost hated to intrude on her solitude.

_Why is it that I can't leave her alone? She had to have known that I wouldn't just leave with the rest of the team. Why hadn't she bothered to tell me herself that she had decided to stay? She had to know that I was going to stay. She's just so much fun to be around. She always makes me forget to be me; I can just relax around her. I like to make her blush. I'm the only person I've seen be able to do that. I've got to stop this thing I have for her. It's not good for her. She really deserves happiness. That's what I'm doing here, really, trying to help her out._

He was still trying to rationalize his behavior to himself when the bathroom door opened. She came out with a towel around her head in a cloud of steam, smelling of flowers. He loved that smell. "Did you have a nice bath?" he asked from the sofa, his eyes still closed.

"Yeah, it was very relaxing." She walked over to the bed and sat down for a minute.

He looked over at her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking distracted. He was about to say something when she suddenly said "Do you want to go out to dinner with me?"

He was taken back—he hadn't expected that.

She took his hesitation to mean no so she continued, trying to explain. "I don't mean _with_ me, just come to dinner at the same time as me. When I was out exploring the town earlier I saw a little diner that looked promising and there's a concert tonight that I was planning to go to. I just thought, if you're going to be here, you might as well have a little fun too, right?"

He chuckled at her rambling. "Of course I'll go to dinner with you."

"Ok, um, we should probably head out in the next few minutes. The concert starts in a few hours, and I don't know how long the wait will be at the dinner. There's a lot more people here tonight than there were earlier this week."

"That would be fine. You get ready. I'm just going to change my shirt."

She started back towards the bathroom to finish getting ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him stand up and pull his shirt off. It took all of her will power to not turn around and stare at him. _God, he's gorgeous,_ she thought. _Stop it, Teresa. He obviously doesn't feel anything for you. And he's way too observant to not be able to pick up on it. He's just trying to help out so that he doesn't feel guilty for not being able to return the affection that I feel for him._

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. _He likes my hair curled. Does that mean he actually likes me? Ok, now that's just reaching. I can think that Rigsby looks good in a suit without liking him that way. Still, knowing that he likes my hair curled makes me want to wear it that way more often._

In the end, she settled on just pulling her hair back into a pony tail. It would be easier than wearing her hair down, especially if the concert, which was being held inside of a small theater, were to get hot. She would appreciate having her hair pulled up off her neck.

"You don't wear your hair up very often." Was the first thing Jane said to her as she came out of the bathroom a few minutes later "Why is that?"

"If you must know, a pony tail is even more of a lazy hair-do than the curls." She brushed by him into the main part of the room, noticing that he had neatly folded the jacket she had thrown at him earlier and placed it on the dresser.

"You spent fifteen minutes in the bathroom to decide that you were going to be lazy and just put your hair up? What type of logic is that?"

"It's female logic, that's what it is," she snapped at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready. I was just waiting for you." He gestured towards the door, indicating that she should leave the room first. "Are we going to walk, or should we take the car?"

"It's supposed to be a nice night. The diner and the theater are both close. Why don't we walk?" She said as she headed out the door.

"Whatever you say" was his reply as he looked up at the sky.

They had a fun time together that night. The diner had been busy, but not so packed that they weren't able to sit down right away. The food was surprisingly good. They had both ordered cheese burgers and fries. Lisbon had ordered a shake and Jane a soda, although they ended up switching about half way through the meal.

After words they walked slowly toward the theater, both seeming to enjoy each other's company. _I can't believe I'm having such a good time with him,_ thought Lisbon. _It's as if he's dropped whatever act he usually does and it's just him. It's kind of nice, really._

She really was enjoying just talking with him and _not_ about work. They talked about everything and anything. Everything that is except work, Red John and Jane's past. When they got to the theater, they purchased tickets and went inside. The local band was surprisingly good. They played mostly covers, but Lisbon really enjoyed the few original songs that they performed. The concert didn't last as long as she had hoped it would. It wasn't even 11:00 when it was over.

"How'd you like to get some desert?" asked Jane as they were leaving.

"You read my mind. I'd love some." They were walking close together down the sidewalk.

"I noticed a little coffee shop near the hotel. How about we go there?"

"That sounds great." They walked in silence for a few minutes until they got to the coffee shop. It didn't close until midnight, so they went in a stood at the counter, looking at all of the sweets that were available. Lisbon settled on a piece of fresh strawberry pie and Jane decided on a brownie that was almost as big as his hand. They sat down at one of the small tables to eat.

"That brownie is huge. I hope you can eat it all." Lisbon commented.

"Speak for yourself. I think she put half of the pie on your plate." Jane laughed. He had been having a good time and wanted it to just keep going.

Lisbon just glanced at him and smiled before picking up her fork and taking a bite of her pie. She moaned sensually as the taste filtered through her senses. _This pie is delicious_ was her thought. She didn't notice Jane's reaction.

He was sitting across from her, trying not to choke on the large piece of brownie that he had just put into his mouth. _I can't stand it…I just don't know how she does that to me. I just want to…I don't know—I should be the one to make her do that. No, I can't do that. It wouldn't be right. Why not? She's a beautiful woman._ That thought alone almost made him choke again. _Since when have I though Lisbon was beautiful?_ He knew that he was going to have even more problems than usual falling asleep tonight now that he had this added thought to worry about.

They finished their dessert in silence. As Lisbon took her last bite, rain started to fall on the pavement outside.

"I thought you said it was supposed to be nice out tonight." Jane said with a note of amusement.

"Yeah, I thought it was supposed to be." They were standing in the door way to the café looking outside. "Want to make a run for it? The hotel's not that far away and, besides, who knows how long this is going to last?"

Jane looked at her to make sure she was serious and not just joking around. "OK, let's go for it."

They ran through the rain towards the hotel, both enjoying the childishness of the act. They could have called a cab, but this was much more fun. By the time they got back to the hotel, they were soaked to the skin.

They burst into the room and collapsed into a heap on the floor, laughing hysterically. Jane was the first to sober. He stood slowly, holding his hand out to help Lisbon up. He was looking at her in a way she had never seen before.

 _What is he looking at? I can't look any worse than he does. We're both soaked. Why is he looking at me that way?_ She could feel herself starting to blush, as she often did under his gaze. "What?' she said eventually, not able to stand him just staring at her any more.

"You're beautiful."

"What?"

"I mean it. You're beautiful. Did you know that? No, don't say anything. Just listen. You know I've been trying for the past week to figure out who it is that you have a crush on at work. I've been watching you more closely than I usually do. Trying to figure out if there was a guy that you paid more attention to, or less attention to, someone you called more frequently with an update than was necessary, but I can't figure it out. Right now though, I don't care. All I know is that whoever it is, is an idiot for not sweeping you off your feet the instant that they saw you. You are the most amazing woman that I have met in a really long time, since my wife was killed, and I'm sick and tired of denying it. I…I think I like you."

Lisbon was in shock. She had never even dreamed that he could ever even like her in that way. She was staring at him. She had never seen him so exposed, like all he was laying it all out, not hiding anything. She just stood there looking at him. She noticed his face starting to fall and realized that she hadn't said anything.

"Jane…Patrick." He looked up at her, looked her in the eye. "Do you really have no idea who it is at work that I like? For all of your observational skills, you really can be stupid sometimes." She was smiling at him now, waiting for the realization to dawn on him. When it did, his face lit up and he graced her with the most powerful smile she had ever seen.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" He looked at her, questions in his eyes. "Why let me go through all of this, the flirting, the date?"

"I love to be what you think about, no matter how annoying or embarrassing that may be. Just knowing that you care for me enough to be in your thoughts was almost enough."

"That would explain why you were always uncomfortable around me and why you did such a good job at the bar when we did the flirting exercise." He was smiling at this and she smirked.

"You've always been able to make me blush and I'm normally not one to blush that easily."

"What about the guy from the bar, Paul?"

"I wouldn't worry about him." She said with a slight smile.

He looked at her for a few more minutes before suddenly pulling her to him and pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was simultaneously sweet, tender and powerful. It was, by far, one of the best kisses that she had ever had.

"Wow" was all she said when they broke the kiss.

"Yeah" was his reply. They looked at each other for a few more minutes. "It's late. If we're going to get up early tomorrow and look at other people's really old stuff, you should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," she replied. She was still in a little bit of a daze. She looked back up at him, and then reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him again.

They had spent a wonderful weekend together, looking at the antiques, admiring all of the old and beautiful furniture and decorations that there were. Lisbon even bought a few pieces, though nothing too big or expensive.

They had shared the hotel room the entire weekend, with Jane sleeping on the sofa. He said that he didn't sleep with someone one the first date, or the second or third for that matter. He said they should respect each other enough not to rush anything. She had respected what he had wanted. In reality, she just enjoyed spending time with him. The kisses that they had shared at spontaneous times throughout the weekend had just been icing on the cake for her.

It was Tuesday morning now and, for once, Jane was early to the office. There had been something that had been bothering him all weekend. Lisbon had told him not to worry about the guy from the bar and he wasn't worried, per se. He was just curious as to why she was so willing to just forget about him without so much as a phone call telling him why.

That was why he was here. He had come in before anyone so that he could break into Lisbon's office and see if Paul had put his phone number on the card in the flowers. He knew that she hadn't done anything with either bouquet of flowers (his wildflowers and Paul's roses) before they left for their last case, so he would be able to find the note right there, in the flowers on her desk.

He quietly went into her office. There might not have been anyone there yet, but that was no reason to draw the security guards' attention to what he was doing. Sitting on her desk were two vases of badly wilted flowers and tucked into the roses was the note. He pulled it out and read it:

Teresa,

Mr. "Doesn't Play Well With Others" obviously has a thing for you. Maybe these flowers will spur him into action. Good luck with it. If it doesn't work out, you know where to find me.

Paul

 _I guess there are just some things that anyone can tell but yourself._ He looked at the flowers one more time, slipped the note into his pocket, and walked out of her office smiling to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you hate it when people put notes at the top and bottom? If you liked it please let me know :)

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so what do you think? Had a comment that it lacked a climax, but I couldn't really think of one. If any one has any suggestions, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I figured that teachers, lawyers, and doctors have to do continuing education, so why not law enforcement? This assignment is similar to one I am actually doing for a class very similar to the one described (I wrote this story while avoiding doing the assignment). If any one wants to know the book it came out of let me know and I will tell you.


End file.
